Hey, Ladies — Booze May Actually Be Good for Your Bones

While alcohol has been known to stretch the waistlines of men all over the world, a new study suggests that tying one on might actually be beneficial for women.

Grab a cold one because here comes the science.

Researchers at Oregon State University say that women who enjoy an average of one to two alcoholic drinks a day are less likely to suffer from bone loss than those who do not drink at all.

The study, which examined the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on “bone turnover,” a term used when referring to the replacement of old bone cells with new ones, suggests that while the rate of new bone cells slow down in healthy post-menopausal women, alcohol actually appears to reduce the rate in which middle-age women’s bones discard old cells.

Interestingly, blood tests of women that were examined throughout the study showed that those who refrained from drinking for as little as two weeks displayed higher levels of a molecule that is discharged during the process of bone turnover. Those levels then dropped one day after normal drinking continued.

“After less than 24 hours, to see such a measurable effect was really unexpected,” said study researcher Urszula Iwaniec, associate professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University.

However, it is not clear if alcohol possess any real benefit to younger bones. Researchers say that women 20-47 years old did experience a decline in bone turnover after a couple of beers.

While researchers suggest that moderate alcohol consumption is a healthy part of a middle-aged diet, drinking too much (no matter how old) is a road to undeniable health problems.